A heartfelt Happy Mother’s Day to all my mom writers, friends and family who follow my blog!
I didn’t think I’d get a chance to blog today, but thanks to a weekend of rain, the softball fields are flooded and the weekend Mother’s Day tournament is canceled! Clearly, Mother Nature realizes this day is meant to be doing things other than hanging on the softball fields.
Today, I’d like to celebrate both being a mom and having a wonderful mom. My oldest is twelve years old and as I watch her becoming a young lady, I feel proud that she’s a sweet girl and pray (a lot) that she stays that way. And if there was any way I could home school her and keep her in a protective bubble where she could never get hurt, I would…well, maybe. Yeah, yeah, not realistic, right? But the thought has crossed my mind when I hear stories about kids her age. Since I can’t keep either of my kids under my protection forever, I’ll arm them with the best tools I can: love, knowledge, awareness, values, and hope they make mostly wise decisions and when they don’t, hope they come to me for advice.
Here are a few qualities I found I need as a mom:
Must always be available to clean up scrapes, wipe a runny nose, and fix all boo-boos
Often survives with only a few hours sleep
Teacher of values
Has an abundance of love and the ability to forgive
Emotional counselor extraordinaire!
Remembers what it’s like to be a kid/pre-teen/teen and make mistakes
Family is an important theme in the stories I write. The heroes of my first two stories didn’t come from a loving family. They had money but not love and nurturing. The heroines I matched them had completely opposite family experiences, and help the men learn to open their hearts to love.
I’d like to share a special moment from Love’s Second Chance between my heroine, Kate, and the orphan she befriends (and later will try and adopt). To me, it captures a special moment as a mom.
Kate stood at the small island in her parents’ kitchen guiding Lucas’s small hands as she instructed him on how to roll dough for butter cookies. It was a hard skill to acquire for a small child, and one part of the dough would be thick and the other super thin. But he was having fun and that was all that mattered to her.
“Can I put the sprinkles on?” Lucas asked.
“Of course. We have to let the cookies cool, then I’ll add the icing and you can add the sprinkles. How’s that sound?” Kate said.
“Good. Can I eat another piece of dough?”
How could she refuse him when he gazed at her with those sparkling eyes and animated expression? She laughed and brushed her hand at a sprinkling of flour on his cheek, only making it worse.
“Another small piece. You don’t want to eat too much or you’ll get a tummy ache. Besides, you want to leave room to sample the cookies when we’re all done, right?”
He licked his lips and gave her a dreamy expression when he popped another piece of dough in his mouth. “Mmm.”
They worked as a team for the next two hours, rolling, cutting, icing, and sprinkling cookies until all the counters and kitchen table were covered with cookies. When the last cookie was done, Kate poured them both a glass of milk and let him choose one to eat. He studied them carefully before picking up a large star. He took his time biting and chewing, as though he were savoring every bite.
“How are they?” she asked.
“Great,” he said with his mouth full. He finished chewing and swallowed. “They remind me of the cookies my mom used to make.”
Kate’s heart lurched. She hadn’t expected that. He’d never shared anything about his family with her and she wasn’t sure of the best way to handle it.
“Did you used to make cookies with your mother?”
“Yes. She used to let me help make the cut outs, too.” He lowered his head and hunched forward. “I miss her,” he whispered in a croaked voice.
Kate tried to hold off the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. She put her arm around him. “I’m sure you do, baby, and I’m sure she misses you, too. You should always hold onto the memory of making cookies with your mother. I’m sure it was as special for her as it was for you.”
He nodded and sniffled. “Did you ever make cookies with your son, with Tony?”
“No, I never did get to make cookies with Tony.” She pushed his bangs back from his eyes. “But I think if I ever had, it would have been a lot like making cookies here with you.”
He seemed to think about that a moment and then nodded. “Do you know what I want from Santa for Christmas?”
“Hmmm…let me think…A Nintendo DS or maybe a Wii?” she teased, thinking of the bright orange DS she’d already bought for him.
He shook his head. “Those would be nice, but what I want Santa to bring me more than anything is a mom.”
What special moments do you have as a mom or of your mom?
Have a wonderful day!
Maria
Maria K. Alexander 